Best work moment
Each time I hear the sound of a “pop”!
Books on your bedside
Mr. Mischief, Ruskin Bond’s short stories and the latest Vanity Fair.
Massage or workout to de-stress
A massage is the best work out. Non?
Designs that have caught your eye recently
Atul Dodiya’s ‘Scribes from Timbuktu’, Fornasetti plates and Moooi furniture.
Your IT tools
The iPad 3 and a Blackberry.
Favourite champagne
Moët & Chandon Impérial, Dom Pérignon OEnothèque 1975, Krug Clos d’Ambonnay 1996.
Your sleeping ritual
Twenty minutes of reading with constant shrills of “…shall I go to the guest room or will you?!”
Favourite TV show
Mad Men and old episodes of I love Lucy.
Best gift received
My first backpacking trip across Europe from my father, old Jamini Roy sketches from my mother and a 150-year-old hand-knotted Isfahan carpet from my wife.
Best gift given
My entire collection of Amar Chitra Kathas to my five-year-old.
Favourite cuisine
Kaiseki, Nouvelle French and my mother’s Lucknowi khana.
Newspapers, TV channels and websites you prefer
The International Herald Tribune, Animal Planet and IMDb.com.
Where do you like to sit when driven? Up front with driver or backseat like a sahib?
Backseat right corner. Incessant phone calls and obsessive deejaying = chauffeur with a coronary.
On a plane do you prefer to network, sleep or catch up on films and reading?
I don’t get out of my pashmina blanket.
Fancy coffee or masala tea?
Nespresso. Tea only in my own home — a special brew that comes from Darjeeling.
Are you a beach or a mountain person?
A mountain boy at heart and Goa hippie in soul.
What’s your fragrance?
Acqua de Parma by day and Tabarome by Creed at night. And fresh mogras for the home.
You get your work clothes from
Kiton — their suits are so artisinal, Charvet shirts, Hermès cravates, muslin pocket squares from a tiny boutique in Florence and a secret tailor in Mumbai who gets it just right!
The shoemaker you trust your sole with
Berluti Olga III lace-ups at work and Janota at home.
What is your shaving mantra?
A permanent two-day shadow.
Your favourite evening wear
Lanvin for black tie, Marcello di Milano hand-made shirts, Dior Homme jackets and anything from Barneys New York CO-OP. I love Abu-Sandeep chikan kurtas and mul printed kurtas from Brigitte Singh in Jaipur.
Your current set of wheels?
A humble Toyota Corolla. That’s all Lower Parel can survive.
Favourite Restaurant
Restaurant le Meurice, Komuro in Tokyo and Daniel in New York, Cipriani’s in Venice. The Table and Le Cirque in India are exciting.
Workday lunch is
Chicken salad with a light miso dressing or a smoked salmon sandwich on rye bread.
What is your workout regime?
My boys — 5 years 20 kgs and 1 year 12.5 kgs.
Your ideal holiday
Côte d’Azur, Capri or Cuba.
At parties do you like to talk turkey or PC
Depends on which part of the conversation you heard. I tend to talk to turkeys about being PC.
A few of your goddesses are
My grandmother who was called the ‘Rose of Awadh’, Grace Kelly and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Alpha males you know
My two sons Abeer and Adhiraj. Way too much testosterone!
Your favourite motto
“Give me the luxuries of life and I will do without the necessities.”
Gaurav Bhatia
Moët Hennessy India Marketing Director
